Andreas Heyden, CEO at DFL Digital Sports GmbH

Andreas is the CEO of the digital arm of the Bundesliga, one of a number of sister companies to the German Football League.

Now 2 years into his first role within sport, he has taken his experience from 20 years within the internet industry and helped the league take control of its digital assets and work with its global partners in new and exciting ways. In this interview we discussed;

What it is DFL Digital Sports does and his role within it as CEO.

His early career I-D Media, Microsoft and RTL.

The dot com crash and how that affected his career at such an early stage.

Big data and how the DFL measures measures success through its own APS (Article Performance Score) Index.

Building a strong, engaged community rather than going for bigger reach.

Learning through leading an early social media network (sevenload) during the financial crisis and how that helped shape him into the leader he is today.

How focus is key to success with both employees and your business goals.

Why it is tough to find Directors to hire at DFL who have been through the startup experience. many haven't learnt about failure and delivering the impossible - things that define your character.

What he would have done differently at the startup if he were to go back now.

Developed products at DFL for OTT as well as traditional media.

Whether social networks/internet businesses are a threat or do they complement traditional broadcast.

Launching this year's fixture list live on social media and through partners. Bringing it to life and engaging with fans rather than forcing them onto a static web page.

Looking ahead, how innovations are shaping everything "from click, to swipe, to voice".

Going from a 'mobile first' approach to a 'mobile-only' one.

How DFL keeps up with the latest trends and solutions out there in a global market.

Thanks to Andreas for being such an engaging and knowledgeable guest. You can find him on LinkedIn and Twitter (@andreasheyden).

If you enjoy this podcast you can listen to the previous 54 interviews and the odd group discussion. And we appreciate all your feedback, you can get in touch on @danielmclaren or daniel@digitalsport.co